Quick Answer
The argument from miracles says that a well-attested event apparently exceeding natural explanation can provide evidence for divine action. Its critics emphasize the comparative reliability of testimony and regular experience.
Key Takeaways
- ✦It is about evidence, not only definition.
- ✦Hume made testimony central to the debate.
- ✦An unexplained event is not automatically a miracle.
Question
What must a miracle argument show?
Quick Answer
It must show that divine action explains the evidence better than mistake, fraud, rare natural events, or unknown causes.
The Debate
Hume argued that a wise person proportion belief to evidence and that false testimony is ordinarily more likely than a violation of a well-established regularity. Later philosophers dispute whether this comparison is always fair.
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Sources
- 01MiraclesBy Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyConsult source
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Reviewed by ZHAIBIAN AI Editorial Review · 2026-08-23